Chapter 8: Reconciliation Between Siblings

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Gu Wenran felt timid; having never known family, she was unsure how to interact with her brother. She tried hard to recall the original owner’s time spent with her brother but could not remember any.

Liu Lili, carrying a basket, was about to head up the mountain to gather pigweed when she opened the door and saw her sister-in-law standing outside.

Surprised and delighted, she grabbed Gu Wenran’s hand. “Dazhu, Xiaonuan is back! Hurry and get up.”

Gu Tiezhu had spent the whole night watching over the water and was just dozing off when he hastily got down from the kang stove and saw his sister standing outside. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

“You’re leaving? Didn’t you say you wanted to sever ties with me? Then why come back?”

Seeing her brother cry, Gu Wenran felt an inexplicable pain in her heart, as if she were the original person and he truly her brother.

“Brother, I’m not leaving. I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

“You little brat, you want to cut ties with me? Do you want to rip out my heart?”

“Brother, your sister was wrong. Please forgive me.”

The siblings embraced and cried loudly, waking Gu Maomao, who was sleeping nearby.

“Mom, why is Dad crying?”

Liu Lili wiped her tears. “Your aunt has returned. Your father is happy.”

“Shouldn’t happiness mean smiling?” Gu Maomao touched his head and laughed happily.

“Aunt is back. Maomao is happy.”

Looking at her nephew, Gu Wenran took out a bag of milk candies.

“Auntie bought these for Maomao.”

Gu Maomao glanced at his mother but did not dare to take them.

Liu Lili saw the large bag of candies and guessed it must have cost a lot, so she hesitated to accept them.

“Take them home for Xiaoyu to eat. Maomao will have candy too.”

“Take it. Auntie gave it. If Maomao doesn’t want it, Auntie will be upset,” Gu Wenran said, knowing her sister-in-law was lying.

Gu Tiezhu, aware of Meimei’s temper, said, “Take it, your aunt gave it.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Gu Maomao said, taking one candy out and offering it to his mother.

“Mom, you eat this first.”

“My son is truly filial.”

“If you eat it, the baby in your belly will get some too.”

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Gu Wenran looked at Liu Lili’s belly.

“Sister-in-law is pregnant.”

“Four months along.”

“Why doesn’t your belly show at four months?” Gu Wenran looked at the flat stomach.

“Sister-in-law hasn’t been eating much, so it doesn’t show. Hurry, sit down. Brother will cook for you.”

Gu Tiezhu tugged at his sleeve, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Brother, be honest. What’s really going on?”

Gu Wenran sensed her brother was hiding something.

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything is fine at home,” Gu Tiezhu said, knowing his brother-in-law disliked his sister and he didn’t want to cause more trouble.

“If you won’t say, then I won’t ask. Look at what I brought for you: rice, flour, pork, eggs, canned food, and new clothes for Maomao,” Gu Wenran said, taking out each item one by one, startling the three of them into quickly closing the door.

“Sis, where did you get all this? The stipend from Sinian isn’t to be spent so freely. Xiaoyu is growing up and almost ready for school. Your little uncle and aunt are about to marry. As a sister-in-law, you should be saving money.”

Gu Wenran’s heart warmed; her brother truly cared for her.

“Brother, I know. I earned this money myself. I dug up a ginseng root and sold it, and I specially brought you these delicacies. You must accept them.”

Liu Lili looked at the good food, touched her belly, and thought it wasn’t selfishness—she was doing it for the child.

“Tiezhu, just take it. Not for anything else, but for the baby in the belly.”

Gu Tiezhu repacked the items. “I’ll carry them back later. You bringing so much might upset your in-laws. How will we manage going forward?”

“Brother, Mother asked me to bring them. The rice you send every year—everyone remembers your kindness. Now that the family is better off, it’s time to repay you.”

“Tiezhu, don’t you want the baby in your belly anymore?” Liu Lili could no longer bear it. She could endure hardship with him, but not for the child.

Since birth, Gu Maomao had been frail and sickly, only recently improving. Every household was poor; their meals were barely rice soup with no nutrition. With half a year until the year-end grain distribution, what would become of her and the child in her womb?

“Big brother is useless—relying on his sister’s help. It’s embarrassing to say.”

Gu Tiezhu hated his own uselessness for letting his wife and children go hungry.

“What shame? On that snowy day, you carried me door to door begging. Your sister still remembers. Now that she’s doing better and comes to honor her big brother, who dares gossip? Anyone who does, I’ll tear their mouth apart.”

Gu Wenran’s family were outsiders in Yangshu Brigade. Years ago, her parents brought her and her brother to this village but were shunned by the locals. After her parents died, they tried to drive them out and occupy their home.

If not for the old village chief protecting them, they might have died in that blizzard.

“Brother, how is the old village chief? I’ll go see him later.”

Gu Wenran was grateful and loyal; the two steamed buns from the old village chief had saved their lives, and she felt obligated to visit him.

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“The old village chief had some trouble before the New Year and is now down by the cattle shed.”

“What about Brother Yang Mao? The old village chief’s life is hard, and no one goes to see him.”

“Yang Mao disappeared before the old village chief’s trouble. He said he went into business, but there’s been no news. Yang Lin didn’t want to cause trouble, so he married into Qingshan Brigade with his wife and never came back.”

The more Gu Wenran heard, the angrier she became. When Yang Lin married, it was the old village chief who sold land to raise the money. Now in trouble, the first to run was his own son. The old village chief must be heartbroken.

“Brother, let’s go see the old village chief later.”

“Alright, I’ll cook. You always loved my cooking as a child.”

Gu Tiezhu put the food Gu Wenran brought into the inner room to prevent theft.

He took out the few eggs the family had and picked some greens from the garden. He made a simple meal of scrambled eggs with chili and stir-fried cucumber with pork.

“Sis, I didn’t cook you anything fancy this time. Next time, bring Xiaoyu along; I’ll kill a chicken for you.”

Gu Wenran picked up the eggs for Maomao and passed the meat to her sister-in-law.

“Brother, kill a chicken? Chickens lay eggs. Your sister isn’t lacking food. I mainly came back for the land. Who is the village chief now?”

“The village chief is Yang Dayong’s father.”

“Why him? He’s illiterate. How can he be village chief?”

“He’s got money. During the vote, he distributed pork to every family, so the whole village voted for him.”

Gu Wenran knew Yang Dayong was the one who once wanted to marry her.

Before she gained weight, Gu Wenran was a beauty. Yang Dayong had flirted with her often, his lecherous gaze making her sick.

Later, she seemed cursed and suddenly gained weight, and Yang Dayong mocked her relentlessly.

Yang Dayong was a despicable and tasteless man, and his father was no better—hypocritical and self-righteous.

“I’ll visit the old village chief after I finish.”

“Don’t go. If there’s no land, there’s no land. I can earn work points watching the water.”

“Brother, look at how badly you’ve been treated. If you won’t go, I will.”

“You little brat, come back at once. Didn’t you say you were going to see the old village chief?”